The countdown is on! Duchess Kate’s hospital prepares for the imminent arrival of the royal baby

With parking restrictions and crowd barriers already in place, could the little Prince or Princess be arriving sooner than we thought?

Apr 10, 2018 8:31am

By: Candice Mehta-Culjak

Duchess Catherine is due to give birth at the end of the month, but there's now speculation the world's newest royal might actually arrive much sooner than first thought.

And it's all thanks to a recent flurry of activity outside the Lindo Wing at the Paddington-based St. Mary's Hospital.

People Magazine reports there are now temporary parking restrictions in place outside the prestigious facility. The signs, now on South Wharf Road, restrict parking from April 9 to April 30 for an "event".

What's more, crowd barriers have also been set up - that's where media and royal enthusiasts will gather in anticipation of the royal bub's arrival.

Take a look for yourself:

Temporary parking restrictions are in place outside the Lindo Wing at the Paddington-based St. Mary's Hospital, signalling the imminent arrival of royal baby number three.

Crowd barriers have also been set up outside the facility. That's where media and fans will soon begin to gather in anticipation of the tiny royal tot's arrival.

As previously reported, the staff at the hospital have also painted the railings outside the maternity ward.

And while this mightn't seem like a big deal, royal baby watchers will know that's where the royal couple will debut their third child to the world just as they did following the births of Prince George in 2013 and Princess Charlotte in 2015.

It's also where Princess Diana debuted Prince William and Prince Harry.

The fresh paint job is so the rail looks picture perfect come crunch-time.

Arthur Edwards, a royal photographer for The Sun, posted a photo progress-shot of the iconic location to Twitter:

Kate, 36, and Wills, 35, have stayed pretty tight-lipped on the details surrounding their third child, other than confirming the new arrival is due sometime in April.

There was speculation that Duchess Catherine's due date could fall "on or around" St George's Day on Monday, April 23rd.

St George's Day is celebrated by Christian denominations around the world and honours the Feast of Saint George.

"There's no certainty with due dates of course but the Duchess is working off a date around St George's Day and it would be a lovely patriotic coincidence if he or she were born then," an insider explained to The Sun.

"Or if she's very late, as she was with George's birth, she could even make it a very special wedding anniversary present to William, as they celebrate seven years of marriage on the 29th April," the source continued.

Like Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Kate and William have reportedly decided not to find out the gender of their baby, The Sun also reports.

But if these latest developments are anything to go by, could the due date be even sooner?

To prepare royal watchers for Baby Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess have set up a website dedicated to Royal Baby updates, which you can follow here: https://www.royal.uk/baby